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Max Branning
Max Branning is the boyfriend of Ruby Allen. He is the father of, Bradley Branning, Lauren Branning, Abi Branning and Oscar Branning. He is also the grandfather of Louie Beale and Abi Branning Jr. Backstory When Max was 9 years old, Max answered back his father Jim back after he gave him a slap. He was locked in the cellar in the dark while his brother Jack and the rest of the family were upstairs eating their dinner and having a laughing. Storylines Max arrived in Albert Square in 2006 in search for the son he abandoned years previously. he was reunited with his father and finally got to meet his long lost son, Bradley. Max then buys a house on the square much to Jim Branning's disgust and begins moving his family into Walford. Max thinks Bradley is too good for his girlfriend Stacey Slater, and when gets pregnant, he gives Bradley money for an abortion, telling him a baby will ruin his life. However, the abortion causes their relationship to end. To hurt Bradley, Stacey makes a move on Max and they have sex. They begin an affair, but Tanya tells Max she is pregnant by him. He tries to save his marriage despite promising Stacey that he will leave Tanya. Tanya confides in Stacey that she is pregnant, so Stacey gives Max an ultimatum: either he tell Tanya the truth or she will. Within thirty minutes, Max takes his family to Spain, and a few weeks later tells Bradley they are moving there permanently. Max returns with his family as he wants to be with Stacey, only to find that she and Bradley have reconciled and are now engaged. Stacey rejects Max's advances. On the night of Bradley and Stacey's wedding, Max kisses Stacey, and although she rejects him again, Max's daughter Lauren captures the kiss on video. Soon after, Tanya and Max's son Oscar is born. Max and Stacey then continue with their families until Christmas Eve when they are caught in the act by Max's eldest daughter Lauren, who catches Max trying to make a move on Stacey on her wedding day. The Branning's and the Slater's then gather for Christmas Day, unaware of what Lauren is planning to expose. Max and Stacey's affair is finally revealed to the whole family when they find the DVD that is under the Christmas tree. The family then play the DVD, although Lauren does try and stop them, and discover this dirty secret. This causes a lot of fights within the two families and Max and Stacey find themselves outcasts. Tanya files for divorce, but it is messy, with Max interfering with her romance with Sean Slater and threatening to expose her as an unfit mother. Having had enough of Max, Tanya works with Sean, and drugs Max and puts him in a coffin before burying him alive in the woods. An attack of conscience prompts Tanya to dig Max up and after a brief scuffle in which he tries to strangle her, he decides to leave Walford as he can see how much devastation he has caused. Max's departure drives Tanya and the kids to his brother Jack, who begins to take Max's place as the father of the family. Everyone accepts Jack over Max, except Maxs youngest daughter Abi who secretly brings her Dad back to Walford. Max returns in 2008 and sets out to break Jack and Tanya's relationship, causing many confrontations within the Branning family. He also tries to rekindle his romance with Stacey and tries to salvage something from his relationship with his Father and siblings. Max starts making people's life a living hell. He framed his brother Jack for a crime he did not commit, he threatens to take the kids off Tanya, he ruins his fathers birthday and he drives his kids into the arms of Jack. Max and Tanya start a secret relationship, and Tanya later allows Max to move back with his family. Max gets into debt and starts conning people with false insurance claims, including Phil Mitchell, Heather Trott, Ian Beale and Masood Ahmed. However his dodgy schemes are found out, and after failing to con his ex-wife Rachel out of money, the debt collectors arrive at the house and take his assets. Once the extent of Max's debts, lies and cons become clear, Tanya resolves to leave him. She gets in the car to go but Abi refuses, saying they need to stick together, so Tanya leaves with Lauren and Oscar. Sinking into depression after losing his family, Max then sends Abi to live with her mother, as he cannot look after her. When Max returns to Walford, he is hell-bent on revenge after half the Square helped throw him into jail. He becomes involved in a plot ran by the Willmott-Brown family (of which Kathy Beale's rapist James Willmott-Brown is the patriarch of) to demolish the Square and replace it with luxury tower blocks. In August 2017, he is present for Luke Willmott-Brown's prison release party. Mick Carter runs into some money troubles with his and wife Linda Carter's pub, so his "friend" Max Branning suggests he sell the freehold of the pub to his company Grafton Hill, who will pay the expenses. Sophie Willmott-Brown is "assigned" to the pub, and pretends to help the Carters. Shirley is always suspicious of Sophie. In September 2017, after forcing Steven Beale to set fire to his fathers restaraunt Beale's, he throws Steven into the corner of the table, and he later dies of his injuries. Max later confronts a helpless Jane Beale who was trapped in the wreakage. He talks down to her, and leaves her, but she is rescued and taken to hospital. She is fine after a few weeks in hospital, but Max forces her to leave Walford so as not to risk the plot being leaked. He begins a relationship with Carmel Kazemi upon the Willmott-Brown family's request, as she is part of the planning department at the council and she would be useful for insider information. Carmel doesn't know he is in a relationship with Sophie. In November 2017, Max tells Lauren about the scheme, to which she is not keen on, but warms to it after being told by Max that Weyland&Co are offering a huge discount to a penthouse in the new property. Later that day, when Max is talking to James, she storms over to them saying she will not let it happen, but stops after James lies to her that the project has been moved to a new location. In December 2017, Carmel finds an engagement ring which Max had dropped on the sofa the day before. When Max comes later, obviously to retrieve it, she puts it back and smiles, Max not knowing she had seen it. Later that day, in the Queen Victoria, he kisses Sophie in front of almost the entire Square, including Carmel and his own family. The remainder of the Willmott-Brown family enter, and reveal to everyone that Weyland&Co own Grafton Hill, and as a result the pub, much to Kathy's horror. After this, Max proposes to Sophie. He only holds the box out, and James (Sophie's father), tells him to get down on one knee and ask properly. He asks properly, but doesn't get on a knee. She starts shaking her head and stutters Max's name. James starts laughing, and Max asks him what is going on. James tells him he has been useful, but all good things come to an end. He shows him a cheque for 350,000 pounds payable to Max, and throws it in the fireplace. The Willmott-Brown family are thrown out of the pub by the Carters. Max sits by the fireplace, staring at the burning cheque. Jack tells him it is time to go home, and fends off the angry public. He takes Max home, however just before they leave, Kush enters and punches him. Jack pushes him away, and ushers Max home. Max is later seen burning himself with a cigarette, and Jack realises and stops him from doing it a second time. Max later tells Jack that him being fired was just a "misunderstanding". During the fallout, Luke asks Ingrid Solberg if she knows Max Branning, and she takes him to the Branning residence. Luke dumps the contents of Max's desk at Weyland&Co on his doorstep, and Max grabs him by the collar, but Jack stops him and throws Luke out. Later, Luke drops off Max's stuff from Sophie's flat. Max is devastated, and complains about his mess of a life to Jack, whilst Jack asks about what happened. Abi and Lauren go to Max's house, and demand the truth. He gives it to them, and they are horrified. Lauren shows him the contract Josh gave her, and holds a lighter near it. Max tells her it is worth a lot of money, and she says she doesn't care, as long as he tells her the truth. Max tells her he did, and then Abi runs over to him and tells Lauren to back off. Lauren tells Jack and Max about Abi's baby, to her horror. However, Max already knows, and Abi and Lauren are annoyed. Max won't tell them why, so Lauren threatens to burn the contract. He doesn't tell them the truth. Lauren asks why he did it, and he says it was for the money, but Lauren thinks there is more to it. She throws the contract at him, and she shouts. He rips the paper up and says it was for revenge. Lauren is shocked. Stacey comes over, and Lauren shouts at her until she leaves, followed by Lauren and Abi. Later that month, Max tries to strangle Ian with Christmas lights as Lauren walks in. A few days later, after Stacey took Max in when he was rejected by the rest of the Square, they romp in the living room. In the morning, Stacey tells Max how ridiculous the thought of them together is as he kisses her neck. He tries to convince her it is a good idea, to no avail. Max calls Stacey "mine", to her horror. Max then goes round to each of his daughters houses to deliver a present. Abi rejects him, but takes the present anyway, whilst Lauren tells him she thinks he needs professional help. Later in the day, Max stares at Jack, Ingrid and Jack's children. Jack takes the children away. Abi later comes to the Fowler household to share Christmas dinner with Max and the Fowler family. After Christmas dinner, Stacey tells Max she feels the same as Max and they kiss. Afterwards, Max notices the messages from Jane on her phone, and tries to delete them, but the phone has frozen. Tanya walks in to the kitchen just after Stacey and Max have finished kissing, to their shock. Stacey returns to collect nappies in the middle of their conversation. Tanya asks her how she can even have him staying in her house, and Stacey says he is a friend. Tanya guesses they are having an affair again, which they deny. Tanya tells Stacey that Max killed Steven, which the entire Fowler household and Abi overhear. Tanya takes Abi and Martin kicks Max out. Max pleads with Stacey, however she loses her temper and swipes the table of the dishes. Martin forces Max out. Abi goes to tell Lauren, Ian and Kathy that Max killed Steven. Ian runs out and tries to kill Max - the Brannings have to stop him. After Kathy tells Phil that Max killed Steven, Phil takes the gun and finds Max. Phil beats Max up, and shoots a rail to scare him. He leaves. Max goes up to the roof of the Queen Victoria and teeters on the edge. Lauren, Tanya, Stacey and Abi spot him and Lauren and Abi climb to the edge, hoping to talk him down. They manage to, but as they all climb back over, Lauren slips and grabs Abi. They fall to the ground, to Tanya, Max and Stacey's shock. When the police arrive on the scene, Max is arrested on suspicion of GBH. He initially refuses to go, but Stacey convinces him. A prison doctor takes photos of Max's self-harmed body, and asks him questions about his mental health. Max denies any mental health issues, and repeatedly asks for news of Lauren and Abi. DI Fuller is waiting outside, and the doctor tells him that Max is fit to be questioned. Meanwhile, when PC Gregg questioning members of the public, Sharon Mitchell calls him "homicidal", "out of his mind" and a "loose cannon", Karen Taylor says he has "shifty eyes" and "wouldn't trust him" and Billy Mitchell calls him a "psycho". Max is provided with a duty solicitor, and they argue over what to say when they ask why he was on the roof. They opt for "no comment" when the solicitor informs him the charge could become murder. Questioning begins. Fuller asks Max why he was on the roof of the Queen Victoria. Max replies with "no comment". Fuller asks Max why his daughters were on the roof. Max, again, replies with "no comment". Fuller asks him to describe his relationship with his daughters. Yet again, Max replies with "no comment". Fuller asks if Max is a good father, to which the solicitor asks where the conversation is going. Fuller moves on, and asks Max if he was in an argument with his daughters. Max, for the fourth time, replies with " no comment". Fuller asks if Max lost his temper, not realising how close to the edge his daughters were. Max replies with "no comment". Fuller asks if Max realised what could have happened, given the conditions. For the sixth time, Max replies with "no comment". The interview is interrupted by a colleague bearing a note. She hands the note to Fuller. Max asks what it is, and Fuller ends the interview. After Fuller's assistant and the solicitor has left, Max asks Fuller what was in the note. Fuller replies with "Maybe it wasn't heat of the moment, maybe that was too sympathetic. You knew exactly what you were doing when you lured them up to the roof. Did you have reason to want your daughters dead, Mr. Branning?". Max asks what he is talking about when he says dead, and asks a second time what is in the note. Fuller smiles and replies with "no comment". Max says he will tell Fuller what happened if Fuller tells Max how Abi and Lauren are. Fuller agrees, and tells Max to go first. He asks Max why he was on the roof. Later, Fuller can be seen telling Max that he has given him all the information he has, suggesting Max told him what really happened and Fuller told him about Abi and Lauren. Max tells Fuller that he needs to get out of the police station. Fuller asks Max why he denied he was suicidal - Max tells him it was because he thought they would section him and he wouldn't be able to see Lauren and Abi. The same policewoman who handed Fuller the note calls Fuller out of the interview room. When Fuller returns, he repeats every word the members of Albert Square used to describe him. DI Fuller continues to hammer him into telling the truth. The solicitor and assistant re-enter and the interview rebegins. Fuller asks Max if he is guilty of causing GBH. Max replies no. Fuller is called out, yet again. Fuller re-enters bearing a tape. He plays it, and it reveals Max is not guilty. Max is released. When Tanya hugs Max, Max tries to make a move. Tanya recoils, and a nurse walks in, telling Max and Tanya that she has news about their daughter. But fans didn't know which daughter and had to wait another 2 days to find out. On 29th December 2017 (New years eve for the residents of Albert Square) Abi Branning was announced as brain dead. This is when the human body can't wake up. The doctors told Max that they would have to deliver Abi's baby. They gave him an opportunity to see the baby and he saw that it was a girl. Lauren was seen love and giving her son, Louie, high fives with Ian alongside them.